Capital One recently hosted 37 girls from Girls Inc. Dallas to help them develop a greater interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM for short. During the Capital One Coders Program, a group of sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth grade Girls Inc. students were educated by Capital One Financial Services volunteers about software engineering and developing their own apps using MIT University’s App Inventor.
During the program, which is part of an ongoing series at Capital One, the girls were placed in seven groups, and each student was provided a laptop and tablet to better visualize how her created apps work firsthand. At the end of the three-week program, the girls presented their newly developed apps to a group of judges, competing in three categories: “Most User Friendly”, “Most Creative” and “Best Overall.” To celebrate their hard work and to promote a continued maturity of their digital skills, each participant was rewarded with a new laptop. The tablets used throughout the program were donated to local schools.
This summer, a total of 132 Capital One volunteers came together to introduce and inform young girls about the opportunities that exist for them in STEM fields. Through Capital One’s Future Edge initiative, Capital One is focusing $150 million of community grants and initiatives over the next five years to help more Americans succeed in a digital economy and help people develop skills for the 21st century. The Summer Coders Program with Girls Inc. is a great example of how Future Edge is having a positive impact in Dallas-Fort Worth.